Erudite Princess Gone Wild
by Dauntlessgirl347
Summary: Zoe has earned the title of Erudite Princess because of her mother, Jeanine Matthews. She knows, however, that she does not belong in Erudite and wants to switch factions. Will she make the cut in her new faction? What happens when she meets Eric? Set during Tris's initiation year. Rated M to be safe. EricxOC
1. The Meeting

My name is Zoe Matthews. You might know my mother. She is the head of erudite, Jeanine Matthews. Because of this I have earned the nickname Erudite Princess. Boy does that piss me off. I was not born to be an Erudite. I believe that I was born for something more. A higher purpose if you will.

Although I am genetically related to Jeanine, I take more after my father. His name is Richard Matthews. He passed down a LOT of his traits to me. I look like him and I act like him too. I am 5ft 5in tall max with slight curves in all the right places and pale skin. I have pin straight auburn hair that goes down to my back and emerald green eyes.

When I was little my dad passed away. Right before that, he told me that he was a Dauntless to Erudite transfer. I always knew he was where I got my quick temper but I never knew how deep it ran. After he died, I made a promise to myself that I was going to transfer to Dauntless when I turned 16. I would practice everything that I needed to learn before that day.

Since then I have been studying hand-to-hand combat and knife throwing. I'm getting really good too. My friend Edward has been training with me. His girlfriend, Myra, normally watches us to make sure there's no funny business going on between us. Don't worry Myra. He's not my type.

My other friend Will has been helping me with my grades at school. I have an unusually low IQ for an Erudite, especially the daughter of Jeanine Matthews. He's not my type either.

No, I have my eye on someone else.

I met Eric a year before his choosing ceremony. I was 13, he was 15. My mom said that a friend of hers was going to be taking me to school that day with his son. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was wearing this really cute pair of chemically faded jean shorts and a sky blue v-neck tee shirt. It was the first day my mom let me wear make-up and her pearls. I should have known then that something was up. Soon the bell rang…

"ZOE! WILL YOU GET THAT?" my mom yelled from her office.

"SURE MOM!" I yelled back.

I opened the door to see a boy and his father. I recognized the man as my mom's friend Mr. Polk. I had no clue he had a son though, especially one that cute. His son was about 6ft tall. I had to look up to him, but boy was he a sight to see. He had medium length shaggy blond hair and the most beautiful blue eyes that sparkled beneath glasses. He was muscular enough that it showed but not so much that he looked crazy big. You could tell that he took pride in his appearance.

I must have looked to long because he got a small smirk on his lips which immediately snapped me out of my mini trance.

"Hello Mr. Polk. It's nice to see you this morning. Thank you for taking me to school today," I politely told the man in true Erudite manner. God, I hate the Erudite ways.

"You're welcome Zoe. Have you met my son Eric before."

"No, I don't think that I have." He then introduced his son to me and visa-versa.

"Hello Eric."

"Hello Zoe." He responded in a rough voice that made my heart melt the very first time I heard it.

"Would you two like to come in while I get my things from my room?" Right when they came in my mother decided to make an appearance.

"Zoe, darling, why don't you take Eric up to your room?" My mom asked that as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. I didn't want him to know that my room was basically a home gym dedicated to get me into dauntless. Heck, my mom didn't even know that. She never went into my room.

"Sure mom." Damn it. "Eric will you follow me please."

I took him to my room and told him to wait outside while got my stuff for school. As I was pulling my backpack out of my closet my knife set fell off of its shelf. It clattered to the ground.

"Are you ok in here?" Eric had come into my room.

"Yeah. Didn't I just tell you to stay outside?"

"What is this place? I had you pegged for a goody two shoes, kiss ass to get to the top kind of girl."

"It's nice to know your perception skills are so great Sherlock. This is my bedroom. Don't, AND I MEAN DON'T, tell my mom what you see in here."

"I won't. I think it's kind of cool. I mean I already liked you but now I like you more."

"What do you mean you already liked me?"

"I've noticed you around. I already thought you were cute. Different, you know? But know you have my full attention." At that I could feel the heat coming from my neck to my cheeks and I knew I was blushing.

"Well, thanks. I guess…"

"We should hang out more often."

"I could teach you some knife throwing and stuff."

"That would be great! Hey Zoe. Would you consider us friends now?" He looked really nervous.

"I guess so. Yeah." I blushed more.

"Good. Well we better get back to my dad or we're going to miss school."

For the rest of the year we were inseperable.

When it finally came time for his choosing ceremony, it was the Erudite's year to host so of course I had to be there. He ended up choosing Dauntless and I felt my heart break. He turned out to be my best friend and my first crush. When he moved away it was no big surprise but it still hurt just a bit.

The Aptitude test is tomorrow and no matter what it says I'm choosing Dauntless. It's my destiny.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	2. Getting to the compound

I hear the distinct hiss of my blood on the fiery coals. That's it. I'm officially a Dauntless initiate.

I walk over to the cheering crowd and take my place in the sea of black. My mind imeadiatly goes to the conversation that my mom had with me last night.

*Flashback*

"Honey, it's obvious you don't belong here in Erudite. If anything your room says that you belong in Dauntless and I expect that is what your Aptitude test said too." I was in shock. First by the fact that my mom would have the audacity to say such a thing. Second by the fact that she had been in my room!

"Yeah, your right. At tomorrow's ceremony I plan on choosing Dauntless. I'm sorry mom but-" She cut me off.

"Good. I have a project for you. Do you remember Eric Polk." Just at the mention of his name my heart started fluttering.

"Yes mother, we were good friends."

"Well, he is now in a high ranking position in the Dauntless faction. You will be teaming up with him to help me control the minds of all the Dauntless soldiers and wage a war on the Abnegation."

"Ok." To be honest, all I heard was that I would be teaming up with Eric. I was nervous and excited but also a little upset because he broke my heart when he transferred to Dauntless. I had just started developing feelings for him and he left me.

"So, as you see Darling, I need you to choose Dauntless tomorrow." That brought me back to reality.

"Mom. I was planning on doing that anyway. You don't have to worry."

"You will be reporting back to me on a regular basis."

*End Flashback*

We started running down multiple flights of stairs. The good thing is that Will, Edward, and Myra transferred with me. I suspect though that Myra only transferred because of Edward. I followed Will all the way to the train tracks. This is the day Edward and I have been practicing for. We jump on the train with little to no trouble and help pull Will and Myra in.

"That was pretty good, for an Erudite." I whip my head around and see a boy with dark brown hair and eyes. He also has dark skin. He has a smirk on his lips and it makes me sick.

"I believe you mean FORMER Erudite," I snap back.

"Calm down. I was just trying to compliment you. I'm Uriah by the way."

"Zoe."

"Oh. You're the daughter of the Erudite leader. Jeanine Matthews, right?" Shit. I didn't want anyone else to know that.

"Yeah, but I'm still going to kick butt in the initiation."

"Ok feistypants." With that he turns to go back to his other friends on the train.

After what seems like hours of talking with Will, Edward and Myra, the dauntless born initiates start yelling something about getting ready to jump. I decide to check it out. Sure enough the people in the cars in front of us are jumping a 6ft gap from the train to the roof. We have to be at least 7 stories up so I think it's fair to say I was a bit nervous.

"I guess it's time to jump. Oh and Edward, take Myra's hand for this." I know that if Edward doesn't help Myra through this then she won't get off this train.

"What do you mean jump?" Ah, Will, always so inquisitive.

"Look for yourself."

He goes over to the car door and his jaw drops. That's when I know he won't do it either unless I take action.

"Hey Will, want to jump together?" I try to flash him by best friendly smile. I nod as if to say I understand. He nods back to say yes. I take his hand in mine.

"One… Two... Three!" We jump.

There is a feeling of weightlessness and then I feel a sudden stinging pain in my knees. I have landed on a gravel roof. My knees are scraped up but I'll live. Will actually landed on his feet. That boy has impeccable balance. I look around see that both Edward and Myra have made it nearly unscathed.

"OK. LISTEN UP INITIATES!" Goodness that voice sounds awfully familiar. I look to where it was coming from and see a man that has his short blond hair shaved on both sides and slicked back in the middle. He has so many facial piercings that I lost count. He has tattoos that go from both of his arms all the way up to his neck. He also has mountains of muscles. He wears a tight black v neck tee shirt and black skinny jeans. DAMN does he look fine. He makes me feel self-conscious in my blue ribbed tank top and ripped jeans. My heart does the same little flutter that it did last night only this time it is stronger. What's wrong with me?

We all gather around the mystery man so he can tell us what is so important.

"My name is Eric." NO FREAKING WAY! That's Eric! I was feeling this way over Eric? I mean I knew that I started having feelings for him 2 years ago when he left but I didn't think that they would stay this long. Plus, just look at him. He's lost his goody two shoes, scholarly with a hint of rebel look.

"The only way into Dauntless is to jump off this building. Then the real training begins. Who wants to go first."

To my utter shock and horror, an Abnegation girl volunteers to go and jumps. All I can hear from down in the whole is a bunch of cheers. Now that gets me thinking. If they are cheering that means something good just happened, so she probably didn't die. I am so afraid of heights that I know if I don't do this now I will never jump so I HAVE to jump now. I stride up to Eric and he holds out his hand as if to help me onto the ledge. I take his hand and he squeezes it. My head jerks back and he mouths the word "Later" and I nod.

I jump. The feeling of weightlessness is back again this time for a bit longer. It felt like heaven. I wanted this to last all day but unfortunately it could not. I hit a net and bounced a couple of times before coming to a complete resting position. Hands shot up from everywhere. I grabbed the first one I could and a man with short dark brown hair and deep blue eyes pulled me down from the net. He looked a little distracted.

"What's your name?" He looked back over his shoulder at the abnegation girl. Oh yeah, he was distracted all right.

"Zoe. My name is Zoe." That snapped him back to his senses.

"Your Zoe?" He knew me? How?

"Yeah. You got a problem. How do you know me by the way?" I was really curious.

"No, it's fine. Just someone has been talking about you nonstop." Could it be Eric? Who am I kidding. He wouldn't think of me that way. I wasn't good enough for him. I wasn't smart, or pretty, or good at anything useful. I'm sure it wasn't Eric.

"Oh, well. That's… interesting."

"HEY FOUR! You gonna talk to the initiate all day or are you gonna tell us her name?" I guess his name was four. That's a funny name. I'll have to ask him later how he got that.

"SHUT IT LAUREN! SECOND JUMPER – ZOE!" The room was dead silent for what felt like hours a people starred at me. I heard people whispering stuff about "that's his girl" and "she's off limits." Then the room erupts in applause. I felt like I was home.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	3. Dinner and Shopping

At dinner we had hamburgers. Not my favorite but it's alright. There was no other place to sit so I had to sit next to the abnegation girl (her name is Tris) and a candor girl (her name is Christina). Four was at the table with us. I could tell he was trying not to stare at Tris. He was failing.

The crowd in the cafeteria fell silent. Everyone was starring in the same direction. I looked that way and saw Eric striding right toward our table. OMG! Does my hair look alright? Does my breath smell ok? Do I have food in my teeth? Why do I care so much? I mean, he's just my friend, right?

As I was thinking these majorly embarrassing thoughts, Eric was talking to Four. I don't know why but I was a little disappointed. I was woken out of my daze when Eric asked Four if he would introduce us to him. I looked at Eric questioningly because he already knew me.

"This is Tris, Christina, and Zoe." Four was trying to make it seem like he couldn't care less. I know this was false. He obviously cared for Tris.

"Oh, a stiff. We'll see how long you last." Well Eric. That was rude.

"Eric, shut it, ok." I can't believe I said that to Eric. After all we did have a history. True it wasn't the kind of history that I may have wanted it to be but- Wait what am I saying?

To my surprise Eric snapped his mouth shut and didn't say another word. He almost looked hurt. I'm just overthinking things though. Damn my erudite tendencies. He walked away and Christina, Tris and Four looked at me with awe.

"You must have a death wish." Oh Christina, if only you knew that Eric wouldn't hurt a fly.

"What, he's just a person." Their mouths drop open at that. All three of them.

"We know who we're keeping around. To be honest Eric creeps me out." Christina said that as if it were nothing. Well it is NOT nothing. I know Eric better than almost anyone. Well at least I knew him better than almost anyone. I'm convinced that sweet, kind person who kicks butt is still in there somewhere. After all he did hold my hand to help me get onto the ledge before jumping onto the net.

Suddenly, the room erupts into banging on tables and stomping of feet. An important looking man stands on a table, introduces himself as Max, and makes an announcement to the initiates. He says that we (the transfer initiates) were to follow Eric.

Eric takes us to the dormitories and explains that this is where we are going to stay for the next 4 weeks. There are 5 bunks. Two on each side and one in the smack dab middle of the room.

"Are boys or girls sleeping here?" Will asked that without counting us obviously. There are 10 of us and 10 total beds. Obviously we are all sleeping here.

"Both." Eric has his signature smirk on his face. It's the one that made me realize years ago that there were butterflies in my stomach every time he did it. But there was something different about this smirk, something deeper. Could it be nervousness? "Your gonna love the bathrooms," he said.

As everyone went to check out the bathrooms, Eric pulled me back. He told me to meet him at his room (#15) at 11:00 tonight. Everyone should be asleep by then. I nod as I hear a bunch of ewwws and grosses. I don't want to know what's in there.

"Be at the training room at 8:00 in the morning. Don't be late." With that Eric walks out the door. I'm sad to see him go but happy to have this time to myself.

Christina walks up to me and asks what was going on with me and Eric. I tell her that he was just scolding me for telling him to shut it. I didn't think it would be good for his "high ranking position" if everyone knew that he knew an initiate. She seemed to believe me. At least I think she did anyway. I've gotten really good at hiding things that I don't want other people to know about.

"Ok. Whatever. We HAVE to go shopping! Tris you're coming too." Tris argued but I didn't. First of all, I love shopping. Second of all, I needed to look the part of a dauntless preferably by tonight when I go see Eric.

When we got to the pit we had our choice of stores. I asked the girls if we could go to the salon first. They agreed of course. When we got there I got black streaks in my hair. I had a plan and this was just the beginning.

I asked if we could then go to the tattoo/piercing place. They seemed much more agreeable to that one. I got a stud in my nose and a crescent moon tattoo on my left shoulder blade. Tris and Christina said they wanted tattoos but didn't want them at that moment.

Then the real fun began. We went a clothing shop. Everything was black. Thank God black is my favorite color because if it wasn't I don't think I could stand all of this forever. Christina took charge and put both Tris and I in so many different outfits that we eventually gave up counting how many we tried on. I ended up with 3 ribbed tanks (my favorite tops), 2 v-neck tee shirts, 1 lacy long sleeved shirt, 3 pairs of skinny jeans (two with holes and one without), 2 pairs of exercise pants, 2 pairs of satin pajama shorts, socks, and a dress that I love dearly. The dress was mid-thigh length and had no straps and studs lining the top. It showed my curves perfectly. Everything I bought at that store was tight fitting. I checked out and so far I have only spent half of my allotted points for the week. AWESOME!

We went to the shoe store next. I found this gorgeous pair of boots they went up to my mid calf, laced up the front and had 2 and a half inch heels. Any more than that and I can't walk. They were expensive but worth every point. I also got a pair of sneakers, combat boots, and peep toe heels.

Lastly we went to the lingerie store and I stocked up. By the time I was done I had used all my points and I had enough of everything to get me through each day of the week without having to do laundry.

When we got back to the room I put all my clothes on my bunk. I had the lower bunk in the back left corner (Will decided to be my bunkmate). I decided to take a shower and get changed into a ribbed tank and the satin pajama shorts. I don't care if I have to see Eric like this. He's seen me like this before so he can deal.

Once I was ready it was 10:30 and everyone was out like a light. Well, with the exception of Al. He was crying. Anyone who cries at little stuff like this annoys the shit out of me so I go to Erics early.

I knock on the door and boy do I get the surprise of my life when the door opens.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Divergent characters. I only own Zoe.


	4. Eric After Dark

There he was. His hair was wet. The only thing he was wearing was a towel that covered his lower body. He had just taken a shower. I couldn't help but stare at his bulging muscles. They were EVERYWHERE!

"Like what you see?" He's smirking again. And queue the butterflies. I could feel the heat rising from my neck to my cheeks. I mean seriously, who wouldn't like his body. It's a masterpiece.

"Maybe. Maybe not. You'll just have to figure that out for yourself." God, could I get any cheesier. Suddenly the smirk disappears.

"You know your 15 minutes early." He looks a bit annoyed. I would be too if he saw me in my towel.

"I thought it would take me longer to get here." I shrug my shoulders and push past him into his room.

"I'm going to finish getting changed." He walks to the bathroom and shuts the door. Perfect! This will give me some time to look around. His room is more like an apartment. It has a kitchen, living room, dining area, bedroom, and bathroom. It's freaking amazing! I sit down on his big black leather sofa and practically sink into it. I put my feet up on the couch and sit on my side so my feet are to the left of me. I prop myself up with my elbow on the armrest of the sofa. I think I look hot. I hope he feels the same.

He comes out of the bathroom door. He only has long, baggy sweatpants on. I gape at him and he looks at me like he is in a daze. Unfortunately he snaps out of it first. "What did you do to your hair, and your nose, and is that a tattoo?"

"I got streaks, nose piercing, and yes. Why?" I get up off the couch. I drift over to him. He's like a magnet. He pulls me to him just by being around. "Don't you like it?"

"I love it. It looks… Dauntless." By this time I have my arms wrapped around his neck. I have NO IDEA what I'm doing. I just know that I like it.

"Then why is it a problem." His nose is nuzzling my ear. It feels funny and I laugh.

"It's not a problem. I just didn't think the Erudite Princess would do something like that." I pull away and slap him on the chest. It kind of hurt. Damn those muscles are rock solid. He looked very disappointed. Why the hell would he look disappointed? Because his friend just slapped him? Or because I pulled away? Could it be both?

"Stop calling me that. Here I'm not an Erudite. I'm Dauntless. Why did you want me to meet you here?"

"Three reasons. The first is to say I'm sorry I left you two years ago. It was by far the hardest thing I've had to do." He looks genuinely sad. I snake my arms around his neck again. Maybe that will make him feel better.

"I knew you were going to leave. You belong here, not Erudite. Anyone with eyes could see that." He looks very pleased to hear me say that. But there is something else in his eyes. I can't exactly place it but if I were going to take a guess it would be longing. For me? Couldn't be.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that. Well, the second reason I asked you here is because your mom contacted me saying that you were going to pick Dauntless and that you and I should be getting instructions from her very soon on a mission." This I already knew.

"I already knew that Eric. She had a talk with me about it yesterday." He looks surprised at this. But that underlying longing is still there, I can tell. Eric was always easy for me to read.

"Well then, Missy. The third reason I asked you here was to catch up." I was pleased at this. I unlinked myself from around his neck and took his hand as I often did when we were younger. I pulled him back to the big sofa. I had electricity coursing through my arm just from this slightest touch. I wonder what it would be like if we kissed. NO! Stop thinking like that. He just sees you as a friend.

He lays back on the sofa and motions for me to lay back on top of him. I just raise my eyes like are you sure you want me to? He looks at me and nods and holds his hand out thinking it would get me to lay down. Fine. Whatever. I'll do it.

We talk for hours. We talk about my friends that I made after he left, the new friends that I made at dinner, how my mom has just gotten crazier and now wants to start a war, and school the past two years. When I try to take the focus off of me, he just shakes his head and asks me another question. This is getting really annoying.

"Hey Eric? What happened to you since you came here? What made you change your appearance?" He looks like he's pondering whether to tell me something or not. "Pleeeeeeese Eric. I really want to know. I'll do anything." That seems to perk him up a bit.

"Ok. This is gonna be hard for me to admit and maybe hard for you to hear. But I really like you Zoe. Like LIKE you a lot. If this is going to ruin our friendship please forget I ever-" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence for a really good reason. I turned over so I was straddling him and kissed him. I pulled back after a few seconds to see what his reaction was. He had the most adorable face that I could ever imagine. His mouth was slightly parted and his eyes were starring off into space. He was in shock.

"I like LIKE you a lot to Eric. Always have." This pulls him back into reality and he puts both hands around my waist and pulls me closer. He kisses me harder than I kissed him. I think I could get used to this, but if it goes any further then I'm screwed. I pull back and he looks disappointed. I look at the wall clock and it says 4:00.

"Eric, as much as I love this, I have to go. It's already morning and training starts at 8:00 and when I left Al was awake and there's no telling if he's still awake. Thanks for tonight. It was AMAZING!" I get up and walk towards the door. He gives me a peck on the lips before opening the door.

I walk back to the dormitories and slip back into bed. Well there is no way I'm getting any sleep tonight. I'm just too damn happy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I just own Zoe.


	5. Broken Heart

I get out of bed later that morning and get dressed into a tight black v-neck tee shirt and black exercise pants. I slip on some socks and my sneakers. And then I go wake up Will, Tris and Christina. I think Will and Christina would be great for each other. They are both very funny. I tell them that if they want breakfast that they better hurry and get changed. They do as I say and we go to the cafeteria. I see that there are pancakes and grits today but what I'm most excited about is the bacon. After a while of talking Eric comes in and sits at the table next to ours. I want to go over to him and kiss him like we did last night but then the whole compound would know about us and that is not what I want… yet. But he didn't even say that we were an item.

Apparently I had been starring at Eric while I was thinking all these confusing thoughts because Christina immediately speaks up.

"Oh Zoe. Don't fall for him. I've heard that he's a player. I heard that he uses girls just to get into their pants. Sometimes more than one a day." I don't believe it. At least I didn't until _she_ came up. This girl (I think her name is Lauren) was the instructor to the Dauntless born initiates. She sits on his lap and kisses him. The worst part is he kisses her back. I knew he didn't like me. I just KNEW it. Why have me when you can have someone pretty like Lauren. It hurts though that he got me to open up to him and say that I like (correction LIKED) him. Tears start coming to my eyes and I know that I have to get out of there. I run. I run like the wind. I run back to the dormitories and luckily nobody was there.

Will, Tris, and Christina all come in a few seconds after me. They gather around me and I tell them everything. They promise to keep it secret and I believe them.

One thing is for sure. I WANT REVENGE. Not on Lauren, that little slut can't help it. Eric can.

"Guys, can you help me with something?" I have the perfect plan. They all agree to help me. "I want revenge on Eric. Even if that means becoming factionless. I know what to do too. I need to make him fall in love with me and then publically break it off with him. What I need from each of you is simple. Christina, you're in charge of looks. You get to play Barbie with me at any chance you want. I just want to look smoking hot every time I see him. Tris, you are the watch dog. You tell me when he is within a 2 minute vicinity of me. That way I can seek him out and get him to fall for me. Will, your job is simple. You're a guy. Be my pretend boyfriend. He will get jealous and want to do whatever he can to get me." That last part makes Christina a little mad. Oops. "I'll have him begging on his knees for me. And then BAM! I'll break his heart like he did mine." The guys look sincerely scared of me but they all agree. Especially Christina since I told her I could be like her own personal Barbie doll. "Step 1. Christina, do your stuff. Get me looking good for training today."

She takes me to the bathroom and immediately puts my hair into a high ponytail. Then she gets started on the makeup. I come out and have beautiful smoky eyes and full red-orange lips. It perfectly complements my emerald eyes. Christina tells me to switch bras to the red lacy push up bra that we got at the lingerie store. I change and the bra just peaks out of the neck line of my shirt. I feel like a whore. But if that's what Eric wants then that's what I'll have to be… for now at least.

As I walk out of the bathroom I see Will's jaw drop and Tris is standing there with an evil smile of her own. "Is it ok? Is it too much?" Tris looks at Will and her smile broadens.

"It's perfect! You are going to knock him dead!" If only Tris knew.

"I feel like I literally could." I am really pissed at Eric right now. I know it's time to go to the training room because everyone starts filing in. I know I must look hot because this Candor guy (I think his name is Peter) comes up to me and starts hitting on me. Will takes my hand like a good pretend boyfriend and tells Peter that I'm his and that he needs to back away. Then Will winks at me and I know that he's pretending. He then leads me to the Training room and we walk in to see Eric and Four. They both look our way. Four looks like he's about to puke at my appearance but Eric… he looks like he wants to eat me for lunch.

Everyone files in for training. Four says we are going to shoot guns today. Great the one thing I didn't practice in Erudite. Four shows us the proper stance for shooting and I copy him to the letter and just stand there without my gun in my hands just to get a feel for the stance. I then pick up the gun and hold that for a few minutes in the same stance. The gun is a bit heavier than I thought it would be but I manage. After I am sure I have got the handle of how heavy it can be and the stance is right, I shoot. I wasn't expecting as much recoil as I got but I'll know better for next time. To my surprise I actually hit the target. It was in the head of the dummy. I was aiming for the heart but I'll take the head. I immediately find the right position and shoot again. This time I knew to expect the recoil and prepared for it. I hit the heart of the dummy. I shot again and It made a bigger hole. I kept shooting and it kept hitting the same mark with maybe an inch deviation.

"Do you know how hot you're making me right now." Eric. Well that was the plan. Although I didn't know how good I was with a gun and that was probably also part of the reason why he was so turned on.

"Oh, really, Eric." I turn around. "Will is my boyfriend now Eric. You lost your chance." Eric looks so disappointed. He almost looks depressed. It almost makes me regret the whole revenge plan. ALMOST.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent Characters. I just own Zoe.


	6. Eric's POV: Broken Heart

Erics POV:

I came into the cafeteria this morning the happiest I've ever been. I finally admitted my feelings for Zoe. I have liked her since the minute I first saw her. She not only likes me back but she kissed me. And GOD is she hot. I decided to sit down at the table next to her to be close to her but not close enough that people would know that we are together. Are we together? Shit! I forgot to ask her to be mine last night. I know I have a reputation for being a player but that was just to try to get me over Zoe. It didn't work. Of course I'm going to give up those player ways now that Zoe's here. I close my eyes and think about Zoe until I feel a figure sit on my lap and kiss me. I kiss back thinking it was Zoe. Boy was I wrong. It was that slut Lauren. She's been trying to sleep with me for a while now but I would not sleep with her. She just tries too hard. I push her off of me and look for Zoe. Not only is she gone but everyone at her table is gone. I wonder where they went. I hope she didn't see that.

It's close to 8:00 so I decide to go to the training room to see if they are there. Once I got there I saw Four and just Four. I was disappointed to say the least. I was about to leave but Four called me back to discuss training. We had just finished discussing training when Zoe filed through the door with Tris, Christina, and Will following right behind her. HOLY CRAP! When I say I was turned on, I seriously mean it. She wore a tight v-neck tee shirt with a little bit of her bra showing. She also wore some sort of tight exercise pants that showed off the curves of her perfect behind. Her hair was pulled up out of her perfect face and it was the first time I have ever seen her wear makeup. She looked good.

When training started I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She looked like she was going to murder someone when she was just standing there in the stance of holding a gun without even holding it. So when she actually picked it up and held it in that stance, needless to say I was getting hot. But when she fired for the first time and hit the head, I could tell she wasn't pleased but that was a hell of a first shot. When she shot the second time and got the heart she got this little smirk on her face. I love that about her. Oh my. Did I just- Yes I did. I knew I really liked her but I didn't know I loved her.

She shot again and again and again. Each time hitting the same place in the heart with just a negligible difference. I couldn't help it. I went up to her and whispered in her ear, "Do you know how hot your making me right now?" Because it's true. She is the only one for me.

"Oh, really, Eric." She turns around, gun still in hand. "Will is my boyfriend now. You lost your chance." I think I just heard a crack. Oh, yeah it came from my heart. My poor broken heart.

"Since when?" This was the question I had to know. Did she kiss me last night while she was with Will. If she did I might still have a chance.

"Since after Breakfast today. How is Lauren by the way?" Oh crap. She saw.

"Zoe. Listen it didn't-"

"SAVE IT ERIC! Will lets go." Boy was she mad. They left. They just left. And everyone was staring at me.

"Go to lunch," I said. I'll deal with all of them once they get back. Right now I have to go somewhere, anywhere, and nurse my broken heart.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I just own Zoe.

Oh. And don't worry this is still an Eric x Zoe story.


	7. Drunk Love

Zoe's POV:

"Since when?" He sounds really depressed. Almost as if he- no he couldn't have. Not this early into whatever we were (or weren't). But then again I had known him for a year before he chose.

"Since after breakfast today. How is Lauren by the way?" Recognition crossed his face. It's as if he didn't think I saw. Well I did. And I'm pissed.

"Zoe. Listen it didn't-" Yeah it didn't mean anything. Sure looked that way.

"SAVE IT ERIC! Will lets go." Will came to my side and we left, together. I knew we'd get chewed out for it later but I can't be in the same room as him right now. We go to the dormitories and I fling myself on my bed and instantly start crying.

"Christina's going to kill me. I'm ruining her makeup job!" That's not really what I care about and Will can tell that.

"Zoe, why didn't you give him a chance. He was trying to explain himself. What if he had a good explanation. Honestly you're starting to scare me, and I'm your friend."

"Didn't know you were a candor Will. I just couldn't take it right now. He broke my heart and from the sound of it, I broke his too. I thought revenge would be sweet but I don't like it." Will was always the one I went to whenever I needed to talk to someone. He was so understanding.

"Now that he knows how you feel, maybe it would be good to hear his side of the story." Damn he's right.

"Let's at least eat lunch first. I bet its lunch time anyway." Before we leave, I wipe off all my makeup and put on some light pink lipstick and mascara. I kind of liked the feeling of wearing makeup just not gobs of it. I checked myself in the mirror to see if I looked like I was crying. Who am I kidding, of course I look as though I was crying. I changed bras back into my original one that you can't see when I put my tee shirt on. And finally I released Will of his pretend boyfriend duties. He thought that was good because he wanted to ask Christina out and the whole pretend boyfriend thing would just get in the way of that.

We walk to the pit on our way to the cafeteria and I see someone very familiar in the bar. Eric. He looks completely wasted. I tell Will I'll see him soon and head over to the bar.

"Hey Eric. Can we talk." I feel ashamed of what I've done now that I see Eric like this. When we were younger we promised each other that we would never drink. We would pretend, but never EVER did we drink. I guess that has changed. And because there are only 4 glasses in front of him, I guessing he hasn't broken his promise until today.

"Zooeeeeee. You look goooooood. When did you change?" He hiccupped a lot while trying to get that out.

"Eric. I changed after I realized how horrible I was to you. I'm not saying I forgive you for what you did earlier but I'm willing to listen to your side of the story." He goes down on his knees and crawls over to me. The few people who were in the bar looked our way.

"Zooooooeeee. Pleeeeeease forgive me. I was thinking of yoooooou and had my eyes closed when she came up and kissed meeeeeeeee. I thought she was you." More hiccups. I actually kind of believe his story. That slut and I were built almost the same way. I could see if his eyes were actually closed how he could confuse her with me. He takes my hands and put them in his. "I looooove you Zoooooeeee." OMG! Did he just say that he loves me? More importantly, do I feel the same way? Now that I wasn't mad anymore I can actually think straight. I'm always thinking about him, even when he was gone from Erudite and even when I'm mad at him. I get this feeling inside of me like electricity coursing through me every time he touches me. And when we kiss, OH GOD when we kiss, I know I don't want to be anywhere else but in his arms. I think I love Eric.

"I-I love you too Eric." I said it. I can't believe I said that I love a drunk man. "We have to get you somewhere so you can rest." I take Eric and lead him down the halls to room 15. His room. He fumbles for the key and I take it from him. He is kind of cute like this. Very childlike. I open the door and he runs straight for the sofa. I tell him to lie down and I'll be back soon. He asks me to stay but I have to get back to training and everyone's probably wondering where I am. After a few minutes he lets me go. I wonder down the hall to the training room. Everyone is beating up their own punching bag. Four takes me aside and says he wants to talk.

"What is it?" I had a feeling I knew what this was about but I just wanted to make sure.

"Are you ok? You're not acting like the Zoe that Eric talks about all the damn time." He talks about me? I really like hearing this.

"Do you want the long version or the short version." If he wants the short version I could easily get away with saying Eric broke my heart, I was out for revenge.

"Long please." Damn. Now I have to tell him everything. I guess he has a right to know since he is my trainer.

"Well Eric and I were best friends back in Erudite as I'm sure he mentioned to you. But I always wanted there to be a bit more to us than that. So when he transferred to Erudite my heart was broken for the first time. And when I came here two years later we kind of picked up where we left off. I went to his room the first night and we kissed and I fell for him. The next morning I saw him kissing Lauren. That broke my heart for the second time and I wanted revenge. So I dressed up like a slut and came to training thinking it would get him to love me, little did I know he already did. And I broke his heart by telling him I had a boyfriend and Will was just a pretend boyfriend so please don't get him in any trouble. He was just trying to help a friend out. Oh yeah, but all is good because Eric and I talked it out and I found out that he loves me and I love him and right now he's in his room resting because he's drunk off his ass." Wow. I'm out of breath.

"You know I'm going to have to score you and not Eric because of his relationship with you and that would be unfair, right?" This should be good.

"So Eric's going to have to score Tris then because you like her and that would be unfair, right?"

"What, ha, no." Pah-Leeze.

"Please. I just spilled all my love life to you and it's obvious that you like Tris. You can't keep your eyes off of her. I could help you ya know." I think Four would be good for Tris. I'd definitely help them out.

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah sure, what are friends for?" It feels weird being friends with an instructor and being in love with another guy who has a hand in passing you or not.

"Thanks. Now get to work. I already showed the basic punches and kicks but I could show you again if you want." Let's see his face when he sees this. I go up to a punching bag and stand in ready position.

"You mean like these." I punch and kick the hell out of the bag it was swinging big time. I'm stronger than I look.

"I think you'll fit in perfectly in Dauntless, Zoe."

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent characters. I just own Zoe.


	8. Afraid of WHAT?

That night I went back to Eric's room with dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes for him. When I got there he was asleep on the couch. I placed the tray of food on his dining room table. I decided to try and wake him up so his food doesn't get cold. I know I want to wake him up playfully but I don't know if he's fully ready for that after his massive drunkenness. I decide to go through with it anyway. I go to the couch and straddle Eric while he is lying down. I then fit my lips to his. They match perfectly. In a matter of seconds he starts kissing me back. He opens his eyes, those perfect blue eyes. He mumbled my name into the kiss and started deepening the kiss. It's filled with passion and love. I love him. I know I do but I'm sure I'm ready for where this kiss is going to go. I pull away and bite my lower lip. I'm ashamed but I'm also afraid. I've never been with anyone before. If there was anyone in the world that I'd want to do, you know… that with, it would be Eric. He looks at me a little rejected and sad. I know I have to tell him why I pulled away.

"Eric. I know I can trust you and what I'm about to say is really embarrassing to me ok."

"How bad could it be Zoe?" Bad, really bad.

"I'm afraid of being with people. You know… like that." I bite my lip harder and blush furiously. I can see the wheels in his head turning. It's as if he were searching for the right words.

"You know I would never push you into an uncomfortable position for you. I love you with all my heart and I can wait till you're ready. Until then we can kiss and hold hands and-" That's it. Those were the right words. I cut him off by pecking him on the lips.

"Thank you Eric. You truly are the best boyfriend ever." Oh shit. Well we haven't talked about that yet. But it's too late to take it back now.

"Zoe Avalon Matthews. Did you just call me your boyfriend?" I lower my head by look up at him with my eyes only. I hope this makes me look innocent and cute.

"Yes. I did. I want you to be my boyfriend Eric." I see a smile spread across his face. It's the biggest smile I've ever seen on him.

"Good. Because I want you to be my girlfriend too. I've always wanted that." Now it's my turn to smile like a dork. I end up resting on Eric's body as he is lying down. My head and hands are right above his heart and I can feel a lub dub rhythm. I fall asleep and the last thing I heard was Eric whispering.

"Goodnight beautiful."

The whole compound knows about Eric and I now. Apparently confessing your love while one of you is drunk off his ass in a bar attracts attention. Surprisingly the other leaders of Dauntless are ok with it. They say since he's a leader and we knew each other back in Erudite its ok. If you ask me it's just a bunch of crap and they are just scared to make Eric and I factionless.

Training has been going well. The first day of fighting I was paired against Edward. It was a good fight. We were pretty evenly matched. I beat him with an elbow to the face. I didn't really like beating up one of my friends but it had to be done and Edward let me know that he knew it was just training, so he was fine with it. I knew Eric had paired me with Edward because he knows that I don't like to win easily. He must really believe in me. I love that about him.

The second day of fighting I fought Will. Again he told me he understood that it was just a training fight. But I knew better. I could see an underlying emotion, fear maybe. He knows how hard I train and I think being paired against me scared him a bit. I tried to go easy on him so I didn't rough him up too bad. It ended with a knee to the groin. He couldn't get up after so I won. At least I didn't knock him out like I did Edward.

Today is the day of the third fights. I walk into the training room with my friends on my heels. I can tell that they're all silently wishing that they don't have to fight me. I just shake it off as I look at the board where my name is matched up with Peter's name. Perfect. This is the fight that I've been waiting for. When I came to the compound he and his cronies couldn't stop making fun of me. They would say stuff like "Princess gonna cry for her mommy?" or "Oh, your just gonna break a nail." Once Peter figured out that I was no Prissy Princess he started flirting with me. It's disgusting really. I can tell it really pisses Eric off. I'm guessing that's why he paired us up today.

I volunteer to get our fight out of the way first. Peter makes a joke about me not wanting to wait to get near him. I crack my neck and step up to the mat. Peter jumps onto the mat and immediately runs and pins me to the floor. He whispers in my ear something that makes my skin crawl.

"Agree to go out with me and I'll go easy on you." I don't think he realizes how puke worthy that was.

"Never! I would never go out with you Peter." I take care to whisper this last part so Eric doesn't hear. I do hate Peter but that doesn't mean that he deserves to get pounded on by Eric. I should get that honors.

"Have it your way." He looks at me with an evil glint in his eye. No wait- that's something different. It's lust. Before I know what he was doing he was kissing my neck all the way down down to my collarbone. I didn't even let Eric get that far with me. There was no way that I was going to let Peter the creep get that far with me. Especially in front of Eric. I analize the situation. My advantage is that he's distracted and I'm stronger and more skilled. His only advantage, he's got me pinned. Well we'll change that. I pull my hand away from him while he's distracted and jab him in the throat. I escape from under him as he gags. I quickly get up and glance at Eric. He's furious and so am I. Peter is still hunched on the floor.

"Nobody. Does. That. To. Me." I kick him in between each word. First in the stomach then in the chest then head and repeat. I feel a set of strong arms wrap around me and instantly feel calmed and protected.

"Enough Zoe." ENOUGH! Did he not see what that perv did to me? I look back at Peter he was passed out on the floor badly beaten and bruised. Did I do that?

"Ok Eric. I think I need a minute. Do I look ok?"

"You look perfect as always my dear." He kisses my forehead and I smile like a goofball.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	9. Knives and Rankings

Today the rankings go up for the first stage of initiation. That means 4 people will become factionless today. I am pretty sure that I'm not one of them. I've excelled at everything that I've had to do physically. The only thing that could be used against me is when I continued to beat up Peter after he was down two days ago. Four said that was unnecessary violence.

I sit in the cafeteria with Christina, Will, Tris, and Al. Eric was with Four deciding the rankings of the initiates. He told me that if he wasn't doing that he would be with me eating lunch. I can't help but think back to yesterday when I was supposed to be learning how to throw knives for the first time. Little did Four know that throwing knives is one of my favorite hobbies. I have gotten VERY good at it over the years. Eric knew what I was capable of. He had seen me practice a couple times back when we were both in Erudite. I had only gotten better since then. I got to the training room early that day and saw the knives. A smile immediately planted itself on my face. For some reason Four wasn't there but the knives were out. I don't know, maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something. I figured I didn't have a lot of time but I needed to feel that power and joy that I feel when I let the knife loose. I grabbed a knife and head over to the nearest target. I got it the stance that now comes naturally to me and flipped the knife over in my hand trying to get a better feel of the weight of this particular knife. It's about the same weight as the ones that I have at home. I knew exactly how to throw this knife. I brought my arm back and flung my arm forward with a flick of the wrist all while focusing on exactly where I wanted the knife to go. It stuck. Dead center.

"Nice. Now do it again." I whipped my head around and saw Four at the door with all the rest of the initiates and Eric. Four looked impressed and the initiates looked in awe but Eric was not so surprised. He knew that I could do better.

I decided that I wanted to show off a bit. I grabbed a knife, go to the target and turnned around to I was facing the opposite wall. Four looked confused. I held up one finger as if to say "wait for it." I spread my legs a bit and looked between them to line myself up with the target. Once I was sure I was lined up correctly, I brought my arm forward and flung it between my legs with a sharp snap of the wrist. This time I made sure to aim high because the target was higher than my open legs. This is a trick that I perfected back in Erudite. It showed because, again, I hit dead center of the target. I turned toward Four and the gang and just shrugged. The initiates mouths hung open and Four was clearly impressed. Eric nodded like I had done well.

"You clearly have done this before." No, Duh Fourlock.

"It's my favorite hobby." I tried to be smooth but it came out sort of cocky. I went over and stood by Eric. I leaned up and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. He got this HUGE grin on his face.

I am pulled back to the present when Christina mentions my name.

"Huh? Sorry I was thinking back to yesterday." Might as well tell Christina the truth since she can tell when I'm lying anyway.

"We were just saying how everyone thinks you're going to come in first." Me, I'm not so sure.

"Yah. It's just who comes in second that's the big question." Going of what I know about Peter, I kind of hope that it's him. If not, he will not be happy.

Suddenly all the dauntless initiates start running towards there dorms. "Maybe their results are up. Do you think ours could be up as well?" That's the old Erudite training coming out of me, being inquisitive I mean.

"Maybe we should go check." We all agree with Will and run to our own set of dorms. Once we get there, Eric and Four are on either side of a chalk board like the one in the training room. We still have to wait till the other transfers come to the dorm till the results are shown. Luckily we don't have to wait long. Four goes into this whole speech about how this is the final rankings for stage 1. He really goes on and on about it too. Finally he flips the board and I look at Eric first. He is grinning from ear to ear so I know he is proud of me. I must have done well. I look at the board and I see my name is in the number 1 spot. Really? I was sure that beating up Peter so much would have knocked me down a peg or two. I look down the rankings to see where my friend are ranked and I see…

1: Zoe

2: Edward

3: Peter

4: Will

5: Christina

6: Molly

7: Tris

8: Drew

9: Al

10: Myra

Crap. Crapity, Crap, CRAP! I love that I am ranked first BUT Peter is third and he's not gonna be happy about that. Myra is ranked last and Al is second to last. That practically guarantees that they are out. Even though neither one has been the best of friends since I've been here, they are still my friends. Myra was one of my best friends in Erudite but she's been more focused on her relationship with Edward then anything now. And Al, well he's focused on Tris who is CLEARLY not interested and he just can't take the hint.

I zone out of what everyone's saying and walk up to Eric who gives me a kiss on the cheek and tells me he's proud of me. I don't pay attention until I hear Peter's voice.

"Oh, I get it. Even though she beat me to a pulp and then continued to beat me up, she still gets first because she's SLEEPING WITH ERIC!" That made me so furious.

"No. She's first because she had the highest marks in EVERYTHING and there was too high a margin between first and second so even when we deducted points for that… incident, she was still far ahead of the pack." Thank you Four for coming to my rescue. But the fact that Peter thinks that I'm someone who would whore my body away to get a better ranking for initiation has made me furious and I want to set the record straight.

"Plus, for your information we haven't even had sex yet. You're a former candor and there are 4 other former candors in this room. You should all be able to tell that I'm not lying." By now Eric's blushing. I know saying that we haven't done it kind of ruins his bad boy reputation, but it should make people respect him more, right?

"She's not lying." Christina looks shocked. Well she shouldn't be. Eric is a really nice guy and I want people to know that.

"Come on Eric. Let's go." I storm out of the room with Eric at my heels. Where am I going? I don't know. But where ever it is will be perfect because I have Eric with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	10. I'm next

That night I slept at Eric's apartment. I couldn't just go back to the dormitories knowing that I had embarrassed myself into oblivion. He gave a key to his place and I was SHOCKED! It's a black key with little pink hearts all over it. It's adorable. He must have had it custom made for me. He wanted to let me sleep on the bed and him on the couch. Yah, right! Like I would let him give up his bed for me. But, I really want to sleep in a nice bed as opposed to the lumpy beds that are in the dormitories. I suggest that we sleep together in the bed. He looks surprised but gives in almost immediately. We get changed, me into one of his tee shirts and him into a pair of sweatpants.

"Do you always sleep without your shirt?" I seriously want to know because if he does, I might as well sleep here every night.

"Only when the one I love is here with me." He says it so cutely, I just can't stand it. "Do you always sleep without your pants on?"

"Only when the one I love is here with me," I say imitating him. He kissed the top of my head and we snuggled into bed, my head on his chest. I fell asleep listening to the beat of his heart.

We were woken up in the middle of the night by aggressive pounding on the door and someone yelling Eric's name. It sounds really important. Eric pulls me out of bed and holds me close as we hurry over to the door. Eric flings open the door and I rest one hand around his waist and the other on his chest. Four stands there and says something about transfers and stabbed and I instantly know it has something to do with Peter. We hurry and follow Four to the Transfer dorms. There are 4 people missing, Peter (of course), Drew, Edward, and Myra. From the placement of the bloodstain and the ranks from earlier in the day I know who was stabbed and why. I was terrified. I knew that Edward was the one stabbed because the blood stain was next to Edward and Myra's bunk and Myra poses no threat. Especially since she is on the bottom of rankings. I know that Peter is the one who stabbed Edward (probably with the help of Drew). Where he got stabbed I don't know. If Peter was this desperate to increase his rankings that he would stab his competition than I'm glad I slept in Eric's room. If I had been in the dormitories, who knows, it could have been me.

I know I need to know more because Edward is my friend. Tris was on the floor washing blood so I go over to her to get the scoop on what happened. Tris says that she was woken up with screaming, the lights turned on and there was Edward with a butter knife in his eye. How SADISTIC can Peter be? Seriously, a butter knife to the eye! Seriously!

About an hour of cleaning up with Tris later, Eric takes me back to his room and I fall back asleep with thoughts that it might have been me.

I wake up and feel Eric's arm around my waist. I wiggle out of his grasp and find Eric still asleep in his bed. I decide to make breakfast for my boyfriend. I pull out some bacon and sausage, pancake fixins and some chocolate chips to put in the pancakes. I lastly pull out oranges to make orange juice. Once breakfast was almost made I feel two muscular arms wrap themselves around my waist and a chin plop itself on my sholder. I didn't need to turn to see it was Eric. I finish making breakfast but I get distracted as Eric starts to place soft kisses down my neck so some of the pancakes burned a bit. I was going to eat the burned pancakes but he said he'd like them because they reminded him of why they were burnt in the first place. He smirked when he said that of course.

After our breakfast Eric tells me that we have to stop by the dorms so that he can announce that Myra and Edward quit in the middle of the night. I take it pretty hard. I mean two of my friends just left and are now factionless, of course I'm not gonna be happy. But the good news if that Eric says Al doesn't have to leave now.

We get to the dorm and everyone is still at breakfast. We strip Myra and Edwards bunk. Once we are done putting all the sheets away my fellow transfers are back in the dorm. Eric tells them that Edward and Myra left and all the other transfers are safe because of this. Al smiles so big that I think his face is gonna break. Also because they left everyone's rank will be moved up 1 except mine. Great. Now I'm an even bigger threat to Peter now that there is only 1 more person between him and first.

All I know is that I gotta watch my back. I'm in some deep shit here.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent characters. I only own Zoe.


	11. Inside Eric's Office

Today is my day off from training between stages 1 and 2. Eric told me that we got some news from my mom that is urgent. That can only mean one thing. We have gotten our mission.

Eric takes me to his office. It's nice to see that he actually gets something for all the stress and hard work that the Dauntless and my mom are putting him through other than to babysit a bunch of initiates during training. His office is magnificent. It reminds me of the boy version of Eric. It's got a black wooden desk and bookshelves lining the walls. Eric always loved to read so there are plenty of books dispersed in the office. There is a really comfy looking swivel desk chair. On the other side of the desk is a black leather sofa that I guess is for people who have meetings with him to sit in. He has a glass tablet on his desk (the latest model of course). Plus, he has filing cabinets for papers, I'm assuming.

I look on the walls and see a clock and a single picture right next to the door. It's a picture of Eric and I that we took in my bedroom the night before his choosing ceremony. We were just goofing off and decided to take the picture but me having a huge crush on him at the time wanted to make this picture one to remember. I kissed him on the cheek right as the camera took the picture and he had this look of shock and happiness on his face. I remember that right after that he was about to tell me something but his dad came in and told Eric that it was time to leave. I was only 14 so it didn't occur to me that Eric might possibly like me like that.

He leads me to the sofa and we sit on it together as equals. He tells me that my mother has assigned him to look at the simulation footage in stage 2 for possible divergents. Once he found a possibility, I was supposed to go over everything that we (or anybody) knows about that person and report if they were a good possibility for a divergent mindset. In return for doing this mother would make sure Eric kept his job as Dauntless leader and I would get my choice of apartments once I finished initiation. I'm not so sure that the offer was strong enough for me to basically kill off all the divergents we find. Once I pass initiation I want to move in with Eric. I haven't discussed this with him yet but I guess now would be as good a time as any.

"Hey Eric."

"Yeah Zoe." Here goes nothing.

"After initiation where do you want me to live? With you or in my own apartment?" He looks stunned. Did I bring this up too soon?

"Zoe. There is a reason I gave you that key last night. I want you to live with me. I want you to be with me all hours of the day but I know that that's a bit much to ask. It feels wrong not having you by my side or in my arms. I love you so much." OMG! This man always knows what to say.

"I love you too. And with that figured out, I don't want to be a part of mother's plans. There is just not enough good reason for me to deliver a bunch of people to their deaths." I hope he understands.

"Darling, if you don't want to do this than I won't do it either. I'm very comfortable with my position here at Dauntless. Even if your mother tells Max to take me off the leadership staff I don't think he will." Yeah, because he's too scared.

"Good. Now that we have gotten those issues settled, how about we have some fun." I turn to face him and kiss his cheek. He has that same expression on his face that he does in the picture on the wall. You'd think he'd be over the shock by now. I smirk and straddle his legs. I snake my arms around his neck and brush my lips over his. He then proceeds to call me a tease. I just smirk more at that comment.

"You're really sexy. Did you know that?" Really? Me? Sexy? I never thought so but I guess with the right confidence anyone can be more attractive. I decide to play it cool.

"Yeah. I know. You're really sexy too. Did you know THAT!" He smirks so much that I swear he looked like the Grinch.

Next thing I know, his lips were attached to mine and we were moving in perfect synch with each other. His lips part slightly and I feel his rough tongue running across my bottom lip. I part my lips to grant him access. He gladly takes it exploring every nook and cranny of my mouth. I remove one of my hands from his neck and run it up under his shirt feeling his rock hard abs. The other hand plays with his hair. He places one of his hands on the small of my back and the other one on my hip. He then moves his lips to my neck, sending little kisses down to my collarbone. I let out a soft moan and he smiles into a kiss. I've never gone so far with a guy that I've made pleasure noises before. It kind of freaks me out a bit.

"Eric. I think we should stop now." Eric lets out an almost inaudible sigh. I mean I know he didn't want to stop. If I wasn't so afraid I would have gone on too. It just felt so damn good.

I look at the time on the clock. It reads 12:30PM. We almost missed lunch. I tell Eric that we should go get lunch and he agrees. He takes the time to fix my hair before we leave the room and I take the time to make his look flawless. We go to the cafeteria and sit at a table by ourselves. Christina and Tris walk in a moment later and come to sit with us. When they started eating Tris looked a bit distracted. I saw she was staring at something and I looked at what she could be staring at. It was Four. So she likes him too. Well, I'm gonna have to do something about this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	12. Overcoming a fear

"Ummm… Tris… Can I talk to you? You know, in private." Eric looks a little rejected when I said that I wanted to talk to Tris in private. But he doesn't know that Four likes Tris and it's not my business to tell him.

"Huh. What? Oh yeah. Sure." She was TOTALLY distracted by Four. Ah young love, the most beautiful thing in the world. Of course I'm a bit biased in that area. I take Tris to the chasm. We just sit down and stare into the rushing water for a little while. I finally decide it's time to ask her about Four.

"Why were you staring at Four earlier?" It's to the point, I love it.

"What. Ha. No. I was not." Pah-Lease.

"Yeah. You were. It was so obvious." She goes beet red at this. "Do you like him?"

"I think I do Zoe. I don't know if he likes me to." Oh, he does. But it's not my info to tell. There is no problem with a little push in the right direction though. "I just don't know what to do."

"Why don't you get Christina to help you with makeup and such and maybe that will help your confidence a bit. Anyone would be crazy not to like you Tris." She smiles, thanks me and runs off to (I assume) find Christina. I take the moment to relax and close my eyes and listen to the sound of the running water. I think about Tris and Four and how cute they would be. I think about initiation and how badly I want to stay with the dauntless. But mostly, I think about Eric. I know I love him. Why is making love to him so hard? I didn't even realize until he sat down next to me that the love of my life had decided to join me. I decide that now is better than never. I need to be brave, to be dauntless.

"Let's go back to the apartment. I have a surprise for you." I see him raise an eyebrow at the thought that I could have a surprise for him. We walk back to the apartment hand in hand all the while I'm thinking of all the wonderful times that I've had with him. How he truly is my best friend. How he will always be there for me. We get to the door and I lead him in while looking straight into his eyes. I sit him down on the couch and start to straddle him. This has become my signature move. He seems to understand what I am starting to do because he pulls me closer to him and I press my lips firmly to his. This feeling of electricity courses all throughout my body it makes me want more. Thankfully his tongue starts to skim across my bottom lip and I quickly part my lips as his tongue flicks in and out of my mouth. I force my tongue to meet his and we wrestle for dominance. He ends up winning and nibbles on my bottom lip. I let out a muffled moan and a smile forms into his kiss. He breaks away and starts to kiss me down my neck towards my collarbone. I try to hold in a moan but it breaks out anyway. I meddle with the bottom of his tight shirt, slipping my hands up onto his rock solid abs. His hands move from my waist to the small of my back pulling me even closer to him. I slowly lift up is shirt over his head and he breaks away from sucking at the weak spot on my neck. He looks at me like are you sure you want to do this? I just nod and start to pull my shirt off of my body as well. I thank god that I put on matching bra and underwear today as he looks at my bra. I can tell he doesn't want it to be there.

"Go ahead." That's all the permission he needs before he undresses me completely. I take no time in undressing him but secretly I'm freaking out inside. I can't let Eric know this though. But another part of me kind of really wants this. Why does this have to be so fucking complicated?

"I love you Zoe. You are the most beautiful, most wonderful, most amazing woman I have ever met. I feel so lucky to have you." He's talking too much. I can feel his erection against my leg. Knowing that I can do that to a guy is a major turn on. The second part of my mind wins out.

"I want you Eric. I want you now." He picks me up bridal style and carries me over to the bed where he makes love to me for the first time in my life. We go round after round until we are both so exhausted that we collapse in a tangled mess of nakedness and sheets.

I wake up the next morning a little sore between my legs. I realize that I have overcome one of my biggest fears and am very proud of myself. But I am more proud of us. We make one hell of a team. I roll over and see Eric looking at my head smiling like an idiot in love. I really do love him. He makes me so happy and I don't know what I would do without him.

He kisses my forehead. "Wow. You are AMAZING! Can we do that every night?" I laugh at his enthusiasm and kiss him square on the lips. I pull away and get out of the covers. I walk over to the bathroom. I turn around.

"Well, are you coming or what?" His eyes light up and he jumps out of bed and runs over to me. I get in the shower and he follows me. I let him wash my hair and I return the favor and wash his. We share a long passionate kiss that leads to round number 7. I think I could get used to this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	13. First day of Stage 2

**I got my first semi-negative review and I have to say that I'm ok with it. To the person who sent it... Don't worry, I have a plan that will make Eric more like the hard ass that he is in the movie. Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, and follows. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I am not a writer. Never have been. So to hear all your comments and know that you all like my story is very good for my self esteem which has admittedly been down lately.**

**-Kat**

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I walk up to a hallway where the dauntless born initiates are sitting on one side against a wall and the transfers are sitting against the other side. Today starts stage 2 of training. None of us have any idea of what this means for us but we know that we have to roll with it. I decide to sit next to Tris. I see that she has taken my advice and talked to Christina. She seems more dolled up than usual today. She wears makeup and her hair is in slight beachy waves. It's only a little bit of work done but it makes a ginormous difference. Her good features stand out more and her not so appealing features are more hidden. She looks good. I wonder what Four will think. I smile at her and she grins at me with a new found confidence. I'm proud of her.

A dauntless born (I think her name is Lynn) starts talking about how she or any dauntless born initiate can beat up any of the first place finisher of our small transfer group. She's talking about me. I just let it slide. I've seen some real idiots over on the dauntless born side and I'm sure I could take the majority of them. There may be one or two that could beat me but I'm not going to argue about that.

Soon Four comes out and calls Lynn's name. His eyes scan the group and rest on Tris before letting out a barely audible "Wow." He stares at her for a bit longer than is appropriate and Tris giggles. She did it. She managed to grasp even more of his attention than she already had. Lynn, who is now over by Four, taps his shoulder waking him from his trance. He tells her to go into the little room. They disappear for 20ish minutes and then Eric opens the door.

"Zoe." It was all he had to say for me to get up and instantly make my way over to him. I place a kiss on his lips and walk into the small space. Right as the door closes Eric pushes me up against the wall. His lips find their way to mine. We move in a synchronized rythem for a few minutes before I pull apart.

"Wow. It isn't like I didn't see you this morning when we… you know." He laughs a long hardy laugh. GOD do I love his laugh. "I know that I wasn't called in here to do this with you. Why are you here by the way?"

"I'm here because I don't want Four to see what your about to do. I want to be the only one privileged enough to see this." He has me so confused right now. What is going on?

"Eric, what is this thing that I have to do?" He lets out a sigh.

"Have you ever heard of facing your fears?" I nod. "You are about to literally face your worst fears. You will be put inside a simulation and I will be able to see what you are afraid of and how you react to it." My eyes widen in shock.

"Well, thank you for not letting Four see this. I think you would be the only person I would trust to see my deepest fears." He smiles and starts to set up a needle gun with some type of serum in it. My guess is that the serum starts the simulation and he has to inject the serum in me with the needle. Thank god I'm not scared of needles.

"Now, the serum will kick in 60 seconds after I inject you. The only way to get out of the simulation is to face your fears or calm down enough that your heart slows down and your breathing evens out. I know you can do this Honey." As he says this he attaches some wires to my head and his head.

"Honey?" I smirk.

"Just trying out something new. Here goes nothing" He pushes my hair back away from my neck. He kisses my neck and then injects the needle into the same spot that he kissed. I smile. "Be brave Zoe."

My palms start to sweat and my heart starts beating faster. My breathing becomes quick and light. I start to close my eyes and they open a minute later.

_I'm in a small dark space. It's so small that I can't even shift my body side to side. I can tell that I'm lying down. I hear a muffled sound of someone talking. I can't tell who though. I try to move my hands above me and I find a latch. I undo the latch and push up. A bright light blinds me for a moment and the only information I can gather about where I am is that I can hear the voice better now. It's a man talking slowly and softly. "I thought more people would show up. I thought at least somebody would show up." The light goes away and I can now see what I was trapped in. A coffin. I was dead. I look around. I was at my own funeral. There were gorgeous flowers everywhere and plenty of available seats. But the strange thing is that nobody filled those seats. Not Eric. Not Tris, Christina or Will. Hell, not even my mother. Where was everyone? Why was I alone? Did nobody care about me enough to go to my funeral? Was my whole life a lie? Did those who I cared about not care about me at all?_

_I cried. I cried for what felt like hours. I cried until I realized that if they didn't care if I died then I shouldn't either. I lie back down in the coffin and close the latch on the lid._

I wake up gasping for air. I had totally forgotten that I was in a simulation. It had felt so real. Like everyone I had known had abandoned me in death. That was my biggest fear. That I would die alone. Eric. He was watching that the whole time. What did he think of me now? I guess I'm about to find out since he's getting out of his chair now.

Eric walks over to me and picks me up just long enough to get situated under me. He slowly starts taking the wires off of my head.

"I will never abandon you. I love you with all of my heart. All of my everything. Believe it or not, you are stuck with me. I'm never going anywhere." I turn my head to him. He kisses me with a gentleness that makes me know that he's telling the truth.

"I'm still gonna be scared though. You never know what will happen in the future." He just smiles.

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea."

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	14. The Question that Will Change Everything

Eric walked me back to the apartment that we now shared. I was still shaking from the simulation that I had just experienced. Apparently I had only been under for 12 minutes but it felt like an eternity. Eric opens the door and I just stand outside the door, frozen. He picks me up and sets me down on the couch closing the door with his foot. He goes to the kitchen and gets me a glass of water. He brings it back to me and I gladly accept it from him.

"I'll be right back. I need to go somewhere for a little bit." Why was he leaving me right now? Doesn't he know that I need him?

"Ok. Whatever you need Eric. I love you."

"I love you too honey." He smiles at me and leaves the apartment. I was alone and not happy. I decide to sleep until Eric comes back. He'll probably wake me up or something when he gets back, right?

I get changed into my short black satin pajama pants and ribbed tank. I slide into bed and it's not long before I drift off into dreamland.

ERIC POV

I leave the apartment and go to the shops. I stop in front of the jewelry store. I have to make this special it is the first piece of jewelry that I'm going to buy the one person that I want to spend my forever with. I walk into the store and am surprised to see that Bud works here also. I knew that he worked at the tattoo parlor but I never knew he worked at the jewelry store too.

"Hey Bud. I need a ring." Yes, I was going to propose.

"Well what would Zoe like in a ring? And what's your point limit that your willing to spend?" When we were little, Zoe would talk about her mom's wedding ring and said one day she wanted one just like it. I never forgot that.

"There is no point limit. I'm willing to spend anything that I need to, to get this ring. She likes a very simple ring. A white gold band with a single diamond and an emerald on both sides of the diamond. Also can you engrave "Eric & Zoe, Forever & Always" in the band." I knew exactly what she wanted and I would give it to her. Only the best for my Zoe.

"I'm sure she'll love it. I'll have that ready in about a half an hour. Please come back then to pick it up." I decide to go to the clothing store while I wait. I want this night to be special and I will make sure it is. Once there, I pick out a new suit and tie (both black of course). I also pick Zoe out a new dress and instantly know that it will be stunning on her. After a half an hour passes, I go back to the jewelry store and pay for the ring. It's going to look beautiful on her. I put the ring in my pocket and go back to the apartment.

ZOE POV

"Zoe honey. Wake up. It's dinner time." I must have slept while because it wasn't even lunch when I went to sleep.

"How long have I been out?"

"About 7 hours. You were just too cute. I couldn't bring myself to wake you up before our reservations." Reservations? For what? Dinner? "Now go put this on and we'll get ready to go." I look at Eric. He is wearing a suit. I didn't think he even owned one of those. He holds out this gorgeous looking dress. It is a floor length strapless number with sparkles all over it and a large slit up the left leg. It's silly but I can't wait to try it on. I take the dress and go to my drawer and pull out a black lacy bra that will go perfectly with the dress. I decide to strip right there. I mean he's already seen it all so it doesn't really matter. He just stares in appreciation. I smirk at him and he tells me that he loves me. I slip on the dress and his jaw drops.

"You might want to shut your mouth or you'll catch flies." I giggle as he shuts is mouth with a snap. "Now where are we going?"

"We're going to Bellas. We have dinner reservations there tonight." Bellas! But that place is ridiculously hard to get reservations for and I've been wanting to go there ever since I came to Dauntless. "Shit! We're gonna be late!" He grabs my hand and pulls me out the door and towards the Italian restaurant.

Once we are seated Eric orders our meals for us. He remembers that I like the sauce on the side of my pasta. It's the little things that count. After dinner but before dessert, Eric starts to talk about our future. "Zoe. You know I love you with all of my body and soul." I nod. "I can't imagine another day without knowing that you are mine and only mine. Forever & Always." He gets down on one knee. OMG! Is this really happening! My heart starts pounding. "Will you do me the honor and marry me?"

I jump into his arms. "YES! Of course I'll marry you Eric!" He kisses me and I think that this will be like for the rest of my life. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a ring. It looks like my mother's ring. He remembered. He slides it on my finger and it fits perfectly.

"You just made me the happiest man in the world."

"I know. You make me happy too." I kiss him but this kiss seems different. I feels like the start of a new beginning. One that I'm happy to say will include my best friend, the love of my life, and my fiancé all wrapped into one. "One problem. When am I going to get to ask Christina and Tris to be my bridesmaids? And Will to be my man of honor?"

"Certainly not tonight. We've got some celebrating to do." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. I think I get where he's going with this. I like it.

"Well, they can wait."

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.


	15. Simulation Number 2

Hey y'all! I start summer college tomorrow so I won't be updating as much. I know I haven't updated this story in a while anyway, it's just that I know where I want it to end, I just don't know how to get there. I'll always be thinking about my stories and I have a new one coming soon.

Peace and Love

-Kat

Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent Characters. I only own Zoe.

* * *

I wake up the next morning with Eric gently shaking me. He tells me that it's time for more stage 2 training. I groan at first but then I remember that Eric proposed to me the night before and I wake up with a smile on my face. I can't wait to tell Will, Christina, and Tris! I hope that they agree to be in the wedding.

I jump out of bed and grab my clothes. I pull out a ribbed black tank and black leggings. I go take a shower and pull my hair into a high ponytail. I put on some eyeliner, mascara and light pink lipgloss. I come out of the bathroom and see Eric looking sexy as ever. He wears a tight black v-neck t-shirt and black cargo shorts. His eyes light up when they see me and I just know that he loves me as much as I love him. I go over to the dresser next to where I slept put on my ring. I went over to Eric and pecked him on the lips and told him that I had to go but I'd see him at training.

I run to the little hallway that we were in yesterday because I woke up too late for breakfast. Everyone is already there. At least I'm not late. I walk over to Will, Christina, and Tris and hold out the hand with the ring on it.

Damn, can Christina shriek any louder? She gets everyone in the hallway's attention. Tris smiles and Will gets up to hug me.

"I want all three of you in my wedding. Christina and Tris will you be bridesmaids? And Christina will you plan my bachelorette party?" Tris nods.

"OMG! Yes! I've never planned a bachelorette party before. I'm going to have to make it so special!" Wow. She is going to be a good bridesmaid. They both are.

"And Will. Do you want to be my man of honor? You have been my best friend ever since Eric left for Dauntless and it's only fitting that you are there to help me on my special day." Please say yes!

"Of course I will. But man of honor. Really? Can't we come up with a more manly title like super special man or something like that." I laugh. Seriously… Will.

"I'll think about it." I smile as Will, Christina and Tris give me another hug. We break apart and I see Peter looking at me with a mix of obvious hatred and something that looks like jealousy. Whatever he's feeling, I don't like it.

Next thing I know I hear Eric calling my name from the fear simulation room. I happily prance over to my fiancé (GOD I LOVE CALLING HIM THAT) and kissed him square on the lips and hear whoops and hollers from all my friends. I take Eric's hand and let him lead me into the small room.

I know what this experience will be like this time so I am more prepared. But, I'm still slightly terrified. Apparently, Eric can tell this because he comes over to me and strokes my hair gently before getting the serum ready. This calmed me down a lot. "Just remember that I am here for you and that I love you. It will be over soon." He inserts the needle into my neck. I count down from 10 to 1 and by the time I get to 1 I'm in my hallucination.

_I'm in the pit and am surrounded by anyone who is anyone at Dauntless plus all of my friends. For some reason everyone is laughing. I follow their gazes and they point at me! I look down and I'm on a stage in nothing but my underwear. I try to cover as much as I can but I realize that I can't cover everything. There are people on all sides of me and they are all laughing at my body. I guess I'm not pretty. Even Eric is laughing at me. I curl into a little ball on the floor and cry while trying to cover myself._

_After what feels like a lifetime of continuous laughter, I start to get angry. What is wrong with my body? Hell, if they want a body to laugh at, I'll give them one. I take off my bra and panties until I'm standing there stark naked. They still laugh, but I'm not upset. I show no emotion._

I jolt upright and Eric comes back into view. I'm not as panicky as the last time I went through a fear simulation but I'm still a little panicked. Eric just saw that. What will he think?

"You know that was one of the hottest things I think I've seen." I smirk.

"Oh, really." He nods as I notice that he looks really aroused.

"I wanted to fuck your hallucination self right then and there."

"Why take the hallucination when you could have the real thing?" He smirks too and bends down to me as if to kiss me. I pull out from where I am. "Not here though." He looks initially disappointed but he quickly gets over that. He takes my hand and leads me out the door where Four is waiting to take over again.

"They're all yours Four." Eric only said that as a formality as we run towards our apartment. I'm giggling like a school girl in love.

Once we get to our door Eric slams me against the wall and rains kisses down my neck to my collarbone. We get into the apartment he picks me up bridal style, carries me over to the bed, and tosses me down. I giggle again because I know what's coming next.

Sure enough hours later it's lunch time and we agree that's it's probably best to get something to eat. We get our clothes back on and head out the door for some food.

Once we get to the cafeteria we see something that makes me very happy and probably makes Eric want to barf. Across the room Will is making out with Christina.


End file.
